I walked into the the conference room, and even with warm handshakes, you could feel the tension. This group had been working for months to pull their work together and launch a new product that was based in some great work that their advanced R&D team had completed. I had been asked to come […]
I was working with a firm in a session the other day and we had one of those moments of clarity. They had done some great work in previous meetings and had set the stage for growth decision making by taking stock of relevant hard and soft assets of the firm, carefully integrating objective outside […]
I recall it clearly: I was working with a small manufacturing team that was looking to break out of their current niche. We had begun doing work on the business model canvas and Growth Zone principles. We were looking for opportunities in Quadrant One (which is the core), but seeing their strengths and weaknesses effectively […]
I’ve been in deep document review for a client for an upcoming diagnostic session, with the topic being growth and transformation. Like many firms, they have a complex and comprehensive ongoing plan of investment around a longer-range vision. Also, like many firms, they have opportunities to improve the clarity, focus, organization and leadership associated with […]
It happens in every firm: the core product saturates its main market and top-line growth stagnates. Margins come under pressure next, and unless investments are made to seek new markets, the firm will inevitably decline. It was a lesson I learned well early in my career. I was part of an industrial telecom group that […]
So have you ever been called to an offsite meeting, only to realize that there are some new players in attendance that you haven’t met before? Not only that, they are the new owners of your division? Yes, I have. Have you ever shown up to work and realized that there is a new […]
Every so often you get a clear glimpse into the future, as was the case at the recent On Ramp Manufacturing Conference in Milwaukee. The conference was organized as a unique platform for established firms and startups to come together with 1:1’s, panel sessions and keynotes. The meta takeaway was that large firms are counting […]
I was leading a session for a group last week and going over how to build a strong, impactful, cross-functional team. During this discussion, one of the group members asked why I recommended so strongly that highly-influential internal candidates be sought out. It was one of those questions that triggers a set of scenes in […]
I was wrapping up a recent talk on doing growth programs in larger firms, when during the Q&A session, one of the up-and-coming innovation leaders expressed a common concern: “We sometimes build some interesting things in our product team, but we can never get our sales team even remotely interested in sharing them with a […]
It’s very common in mid-sized firms and larger: when a big review is coming up, particularly with the analyst community or a larger customer, there is a need to have a few slides that position the firm as a leader. The R&D team is tapped for “some content” and many times a project is dusted […]
